The Red Tractor Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet Scheme has retained its Silver benchmark against SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment, helping to reduce the audit burden for members and maximising market access.
SAI Platform numbers some of the world’s most recognisable brands among its membership, including Coca-Cola, Mars, Nestlé, Molson Coors and Unilever. SAI Platform created the Farm Sustainability Assessment as a common benchmark for sustainable farming practice, enabling large, multi-national companies to validate sustainability across global supply chains.
Reflecting increasing demand to deliver products in the most sustainable way, SAI Platform recently uplifted its Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA 3.0). Despite the uplift, Red Tractor’s Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet Scheme Standards have remained compliant with the Silver benchmark, demonstrating that Red Tractor standards continue to align with consumer demand for sustainability. The confirmation represents unbroken market access for Red Tractor members – particularly those growing sugar beet and malting barley – and continues to negate the requirement for additional non-Red Tractor assessments.
Red Tractor chief executive Jim Moseley commented: “Red Tractor works hard to ensure its own standards are recognised by third party schemes and programmes. This latest confirmation from SAI Platform is brilliant news for growers and builds on last year’s decision by the European Commission to recognise Red Tractor for the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII). So, simply by being Red Tractor assured, crops and sugar beet members can access all these markets without any additional assessments.”
Nick Morris, Head of Agriculture, British Sugar said: “We have worked closely with Red Tractor and SAI Platform to support the benchmarking process. SAI is used by a number of our large customers as part of their buying specifications. This is great news for our sugar beet growers – all of whom are Red Tractor assured – as it means their high standards of production are recognised by both without additional audits and assessments, and we can continue to market their products globally.”
Matt Culley, NFU Crops Board Chair commented: “UK consumers and businesses want to buy food which is sustainable and contributes to the country’s transition to a low carbon economy. This SAI Platform earned recognition is good news for growers as it minimises audit burden and helps drives domestic and export demand for British grown crops. I am glad to see it follow the UK Flour Millers’ recent endorsement of British Red Tractor assured crops and for assured growers to be getting the recognition they deserve.”
